General blackout in Europe affects flights, transport and internet

Power began to be restored in some areas early this afternoon; “rare atmospheric phenomenon” may be the cause

Portugal, Spain, and part of France in Europe were hit by a general blackout on Monday (28). The shutdown affected the operation of airports and basic services such as telecommunications, transport, internet and banks.

The energy network operator REN, the company responsible for supplying energy in Portugal, reported that the blackouts in the country occurred due to a failure in the Spanish electricity grid, related to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”, caused by extreme temperature variations in the Spanish interior.

According to the company, abnormal oscillations occurred in the very high voltage lines (400 kV). The phenomenon is known as “induced atmospheric vibration. These oscillations caused synchronization failures between the electrical systems”, which caused problems throughout the interconnected European network. The situation could take up to a week to normalize, REN said.

Portugal's National Civil Aviation Authority has asked passengers not to go to airports because despite contingency plans having been activated, operations were still limited.

In Spain, several airports were affected. Barajas and El Prat, in Barcelona, ​​had flights cancelled and passengers were even trapped inside the planes. Huge queues were recorded.

The newspaper El País reported that there were riots to catch taxis, as metro, train and bus services were paralyzed.

Aena, which manages 46 airports in Spain, said airports were operating with contingency electrical systems and confirmed delays.

Operators believe that it may take six to 10 hours for the power supply to return, but that it may take a week for the power to return to normal. For now, authorities have ruled out the possibility of a hacker attack. Emergency meetings have been called between the governments of Portugal and Spain to determine what actually happened.

Energy returning

Power began to be restored in some cities in Spain and Portugal in the early afternoon, including Seville, Valencia, Huesca, among others.

The supplier seeks to standardize, mainly, the service for hospitals and transport systems.